Chapter 61: The Lethal Combination of Black Bird Manipulation and Boogie Woogie
Mei Mei and Aoi Todo locked their gazes tightly onto Rin, no longer concerned with the mystery of his sudden recovery of Cursed Energy. At this point, all questions could only be answered by fists; this battle was destined to end with one side falling.
Both tensed their bodies almost simultaneously, assuming fighting stances. Light blue Cursed Energy flowed around Aoi Todo; his right arm had fully recovered, and his fists clenched with a cracking sound.
Although Mei Mei was pale and her wounds were seeping blood, she still gripped her long axe tightly. Crows circled above her head, and black feathers drifted down in a rustle.
Rin also slowly straightened his body, black-red Cursed Energy circulating around him. Though he had returned to his peak, the burns on his chest and arms were still seeping blood, and every breath tugged at him with tearing pain.
He could clearly feel that his injured muscles could not support his usual speed in hand-to-hand combat; this window of recovery was his most vulnerable moment.
He stared fixedly at the two approaching figures, calculating rapidly. He had to avoid close combat; once entangled, his injuries would become a fatal flaw.
In the standoff, the disparity in their conditions was clear. Although Aoi Todo had previously lost an arm, he had fully recovered thanks to Reverse Cursed Technique; his Cursed Energy flowed steadily, and there were almost no signs of the fierce battle he had endured.
Mei Mei, however, was far more disheveled; her clothes were soaked in blood, and her abdominal wound was still seeping. As she raised her arm, the injury on her shoulder caused her to frown slightly, and even her fingers gripping the long axe were trembling. Having faced Rin's dense attacks alone just moments before, she was already pushing herself to the limit.
Aoi Todo's peripheral vision swept over Mei Mei's wounds, but he dared not lose focus for long, his gaze remaining firmly locked on Rin. He asked in a rapid-fire tone, "How is your condition, Mei Mei?" His voice was low, yet carried unmistakable concern.
Mei Mei took a deep breath and raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. "I'm fine! Let's strike now while his injuries haven't fully healed!"
She knew full well that Rin's Reverse Cursed Technique was slowly repairing his burns; once he fully recovered, suppressing him would be nearly impossible. This was their only chance.
Upon hearing this, Aoi Todo nodded heavily, and the Cursed Energy in his palms surged instantly.
No further words were needed; their tacit understanding erupted in that moment.
The flock of crows above Mei Mei suddenly grew restless, the sound of beating wings intensifying. Aoi Todo slightly bent his knees and leaned forward, like a leopard poised to strike, waiting only for a signal to launch a fatal assault on Rin.
The next second, the deathly silence of the standoff was shattered. Mei Mei and Aoi Todo moved almost simultaneously, launching a pincer attack on Rin.
Mei Mei waved her hand toward the sky, and the circling flock of crows instantly transformed into a rain of black arrows. The sharp sound of wings slicing through the air was piercing as they dove toward Rin's face and neck, a dense swarm of shadows that all but obscured his vision.
Taking advantage of the cover provided by the crows, Aoi Todo pushed off the ground, his body hurtling toward Rin like an arrow released from a bow.
Rin's eyes narrowed as he instantly discerned their intent.
He was covered in wounds, and his speed in hand-to-hand combat was greatly diminished; if Aoi Todo managed to engage him in close quarters, he would inevitably be forced onto the defensive.
Without a moment's hesitation, black-red Cursed Energy exploded from Rin's fingertips as he shouted at the rushing Aoi Todo, "Rifle!"
In the next second, a barrage of Cursed Energy bullets erupted like a storm, each one precisely locked onto Aoi Todo's path. The rain of bullets wove into a lethal net of firepower, as if to completely consume him.
Yet, facing this lethal attack, Aoi Todo did not dodge in the slightest.
"Clap!" As the crisp clapping sound echoed, a bizarre sight unfolded: Aoi Todo's figure suddenly vanished, replaced by a crow.
The black-red Cursed Energy bullets instantly blasted the crow into a mist of blood, while Aoi Todo used the Boogie Woogie Cursed Technique to instantly swap positions to directly above Rin!
This was the ultimate synergy of their Cursed Techniques; Mei Mei's flock of crows not only obscured vision but also provided Aoi Todo with countless "moving swap mediums."
With the activation of Boogie Woogie appearing without warning, Aoi Todo used the cover of the crows to execute a teleportation assault. Between the overt and the covert, they pushed their tactical ingenuity to the limit.
Mei Mei's flock of crows turned the three-person battlefield into a labyrinth; amidst the scattering black feathers, any crow could become the medium for Aoi Todo to activate Boogie Woogie.
Even more troublesome was the fact that he dared not summon any Cursed Spirits for support; once summoned, these new targets would only serve as "moving swap points" for Aoi Todo.
They would not only fail to help but would instead force him into an even more passive position.
Fortunately, Rin still had the Sharingan.
His scarlet pupils rotated rapidly, the tomoe tracing afterimages in his eyes; even with the crows obscuring his vision, he could instantly track Aoi Todo's movements.
"Don't even think about it!"
Rin reacted with lightning speed, raising his right hand toward the sky as black-red Cursed Energy instantly condensed into a projectile: "Bang!"
But just as the Cursed Energy projectile was fired, a crisp "clap" echoed once more.
Aoi Todo had used a passing crow to swap positions once again! The projectile missed, slamming into a broken wall in the distance and exploding into a shower of rubble.
"Behind me!"
The Sharingan instantly locked onto the new source of Cursed Energy. Rin whipped his head around, but before he could fully turn, a massive force slammed violently into his left eye.
"Thud!" Amidst the dull impact, his already bloodied left cheek instantly swelled and deformed; a tearing, excruciating pain shot through his eyeball as blood streamed wildly from the corner of his eye.
Rin's left eye was completely swollen shut, leaving only a field of scarlet darkness in his vision.
"Damn it!" Rin groaned in pain, his body stumbling backward, yet he dared not pause for even a second.
Fighting through the dizziness, he pulled the "trigger" repeatedly in the direction where Aoi Todo might appear. A string of black-red Cursed Energy projectiles tore toward the surrounding crows and ruins, a dense barrage intended to force his opponent back and buy himself time to recover.
But the familiar "clap" echoed once again. This time, it wasn't Aoi Todo who was swapped by Boogie Woogie, but Rin himself!
His body was abruptly shifted to the side of a broken wall several meters away, and his Cursed Energy projectiles missed their mark, blasting small craters into the ground.
Before he could steady himself, the sharp whistle of air came from behind him. Mei Mei's long axe, gleaming with a cold light, was already descending toward the back of his neck; the chill of the blade made his skin prickle.
At the critical moment, Rin suddenly ducked, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. The axe blade grazed his scalp, slicing off a few strands of hair.
He seized the momentum to turn, aiming his fingertips at Mei Mei as Cursed Energy condensed frantically: "Revolver!"
A violent Cursed Energy projectile roared as it shot out, its power several times greater than the "Rifle."
Mei Mei was momentarily stunned; she hadn't expected Rin's counterattack to be so swift despite his injuries, nor had she anticipated such a tricky angle.
Just as the Cursed Energy projectile was about to strike, "Clap!"
Mei Mei's figure instantly swapped with a distant crow, and Rin's attack missed once again, only blasting a deep crater into the broken wall.
The two stood together once more, their expressions grave to the extreme.